South Korean quarantine officials will slaughter 236,000 poultry after an outbreak of the virulent H5N1 form of bird flu at a chicken farm, the agriculture ministry said Saturday. The outbreak occurred at a farm in Iksan, about 155 miles south of Seoul, earlier this week, resulting in the deaths of 6,700 chickens. Test results confirmed that the outbreak was caused by a "highly pathogenic" type of H5N1 virus, the ministry said in a statement. It said 236,000 poultry within a 1,650-foot radius of the outbreak site would be slaughtered to keep the virus from spreading. The "highly pathogenic" type of H5N1 can be lethal to poultry but poses little risk to people, said Kwon Jun-wook, an official at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ... http://www.cbsnews.com

House Democrats put lobbying reform near the top of their agenda, but their incoming majority leader was one of the biggest recipients of special-interest money. A new report states that Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat, was the "most dependent" on special-interest funding and received the fifth-highest total in lobbying contributions among members of Congress. According to public financing records, Mr. Hoyer has received $609,836 from lobbyists, $2.46 million from out-of-state donors and $5.67 million in political action committee contributions since 2000. "Much of the reason he's at the top of the list is because he's in leadership," said Craig Holman, legislative director of Public Citizen, a government watchdog organization that produced the report. "It does not necessarily mean he'll be reluctant to support lobbying reform." ...http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20061124-105913-6363r.htm

Police shot three young men who had just left a bachelor party at a strip club early Saturday, killing one man on the day of his wedding, according to police and witnesses. One of the survivors was in critical condition. The shooting happened just after 4 a.m. near Club Kalua in Queens, said Officer Kathleen Price. She said there were no reports that any officers were wounded. It was not immediately clear what sparked the shooting. As many as eight officers may have been involved, said Sgt. Mike Wysokowski, another department spokesman. "All I know, they was celebrating," said Denise Ford, who said her son was one of the survivors. She said the man who died was the groom. "The guy was getting married today." Relatives said the dead man was Sean Bell, 23. Robert Porter, who identified himself as Bell's first cousin, said he was supposed to be a DJ at the wedding."I still don't want to believe it, a beautiful day like this, ...http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/25/nyc.shooting.ap/index.html?eref=rss_us

Police shot three young men who had just left a bachelor party at a strip club early Saturday, killing one man on the day of his wedding, according to police and witnesses. One of the survivors was in critical condition.The shooting happened just after 4 a.m. near Club Kalua in Queens, said Officer Kathleen Price. She said there were no reports that any officers were wounded.It was not immediately clear what sparked the shooting. As many as eight officers may have been involved, said Sgt. Mike Wysokowski, another department spokesman."All I know, they was celebrating," said Denise Ford, who said her son was one of the survivors. She said the man who died was the groom. "The guy was getting married today."...http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-25-police-shooting_x.htm?csp=34

A U.N. agency said Saturday that Israel laid mines in Lebanon during this summer's war between the Jewish state and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group the first time Israel has been accused of planting mines during the latest fighting. The report by the U.N. Mine Action Coordination Center follows its investigation of a land mine explosion Friday that wounded two European disposal experts and a Lebanese medic. The explosion was caused by an Israeli anti-personnel land mine placed in a mine field newly laid during the fighting in July and August, the center in south Lebanon said in a statement. Lebanon's south is riddled with land mines, laid by retreating Israeli soldiers who pulled out of the region in 2000, after an 18-year occupation. Hezbollah has also planted mines to ward off Israeli forces...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2678678

The militant Islamist group Hamas warned Israel on Saturday of a third uprising if it failed with the United States and Europe to make progress toward a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders.Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal told a news conference in Cairo Western powers would have six months to seize on "the historic chance" to settle the region's longest conflict once a national unity cabinet is formed between Hamas and rival group Fatah. But forming the government is subject to talks between the two groups and faces several obstacles, including obtaining guarantees to ensure the end of a Western financial ban on the Palestinian Authority once the cabinet takes power. Shortly before Meshaal's ultimatum, Palestinian militants fired rockets into Israel, residents said. Israeli artillery shells later hit a house and a car in the northern Gaza Strip, wounding at least two people, hospital officials said. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2678648